Spelling Bee Fills the Hive
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- Written by: Cynthia Roberts
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On Friday January 23 nearly sixty of Scarsdale's most competitive spellers took to the stage at the Fifth Annual Friends of Scarsdale Library Adult and Teen Spelling Bee. The high school auditorium was a'buzz with excitement as a crowd of 350 gathered to cheer on families, friends and neighbors.
Ed Coleman, the voice of the New York Mets and emcee of the event, announced 
each spelling word along with its meaning. Then he used the word in a sentence. The three members of each team were allowed to confer among themselves and were then required to write their team's answer on a board for the judges to evaluate. The adults, teens and children in the audience were given pen and paper with which to test their own spelling prowess along with the twenty competing teams.
Spelling words in the first rounds included "knack", "ragout", "stationery" and "macerate". As the contest continued, the words became increasingly challenging. By the end of the first round, The Library Trustbees advanced by correctly spelling "axil" (think botany). The Presbeeterians moved up with "ferrule"(a fastener). "Fuchsia" (the color and plant) took the New Bees to the next level and the Let it Bee team made it to the Championship Round with "fennec" (a small, desert fox.)
During breaks between rounds Spelling Bee hosts wandered the aisles with microphones, proffering trivia questions and choosing among waving hands of all ages.
"Whose faces are on Mount Rushmore?"
"What does each character seek from the Wizard of Oz?"
"Who can name the next number in the following Fibonacci series: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,__?" (*see below for the answer)
Correct answers were rewarded with "Book Bucks," redeemable at the September, 2015 library book sale.
By the championship round twenty teams were winnowed down to four. As the difficulty level of the words rose, so did the complexity of the rules. For this round each team was required to send only one of its members to the microphone, and that member was required to orally spell the word within 30 seconds.
A hush fell over the audience as the as the emcee clearly articulated the first word... "melee." The speller left the team's table, walked alone to the microphone at the front of the stage and spelled, "M" "E" "L" "E" "E."
"That is correct!" the judges ruled, to cheering and clapping.
Judging the spelling bee were NY State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, Library Director Beth Bermel, and Margaret Smith, a member of the Spelling Bee Committee.
The next two teams made it through with correct spellings of "knout" and "crèche." But "roux" knocked out the Let it Bee (Maura Dooley and Ben Moseley), leaving three teams in the running.
The next series of queries included "karaoke," "croissant," "masseuse," "renaissance," "repertoire," and finally "bouillon," which eliminated the Presbeeterians (Heather Gilchriest Meili, Stephan Meili and Katharine Miao.)
With only two teams remaining, the crowd was sitting on the edge of their seats. The New Bees team included Simon Landless, Judy McEvoy and Kevin McEvoy. The Library Trustbees boasted a heavy hitting lineup, with Scarsdale Library Board President Michelle Lichtenberg and two two-time Bee winners, Barbara Josselsohn and Terri Simon who is the Vice President of the Scarsdale Library Board.
They all were prepared to spell and spell they did.
"Cenotaph...ennui...guillotine...hemorrhage...inveigle...métier." Each spelled the words flawlessly.
Ed Coleman's professional voice resonated with the next word for the New Bees. Simon Landless confidently walked to the mike and spelled it. "M" "Y" "R" "R" "H." "Incorrect," came the ruling from judges' table. The crowd gasped. All eyes in the audience looked upward. The correct spelling of each word was projected on a screen over the stage such that the audience could see the word, but the contestants could not. On the screen was printed, "Myrrhh." The judges read that spelling out loud. Simon graciously said that he was sure that the word was spelled otherwise, as he had stated, "M" "Y" "R" "R" "H." The judges agreed to double check and went into a flurry of typing onto a laptop. Everyone looked around, waiting for the answer, but nothing was forthcoming. "There is no wifi in here" one man reminded everyone. "Someone should take their phone outside", suggested another viewer. After several suspenseful minutes a boy came running down the aisle to the judges with a cellphone presumably showing the correct spelling of the word. The judges looked at the screen, acknowledged their error, and reinstated the New Bees to clapping from the crowd.
The words kept coming and the spellers kept spelling. "wildebeest...zeitgeist... pirouette...omniscience." West Wing fans may have had a leg up in the spelling "shibboleth."
In Round Ten the New Bees were asked to spell "apotropaic," (designed to ward off evil) and after a heroic run, finally foundered. The suspense continued, however, because in order to win, the Library Trustbees still had to spell their word correctly. Ed announced the word, "baccalaureate." A hush came over the crowd as Terri Simon walked up to the mike... and spelled the word perfectly. Cheers and applause erupted! The Library Trustbees had won the Bee.
All teams are to be congratulated on stepping up to the plate for a multigenerational community event that celebrates reading. The three hometown education experts comprising the Newbees for Ee team took the biggest risk and likely brought in the most fans. Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Scarsdale's new Superintendent, Mr. David Wixted, Scarsdale Teachers Association President, and Mr. Chris Morin, Board of Education Trustee filled this roster. (For those who are curious, the Newbees for Ee were eliminated when they misspelled the word "colloquy.") Proceeds of this very successful Bee will be used to fund a high-level speaker series at the Scarsdale Library.
Kudos to the Co-Chairs Renu Lalwani and Carolyn Mehta and the entire Spelling Bee Committee who provided a fun, festive and educational evening for all. Carolyn Mehta shared her idea for a new motto for Scarsdale, "Come for the schools, stay for the library!" She also divulged that, "no words were underinflated for the Bee", referring to the recent football scandal.
(*The answer to the Fibonacci question is 55)
Edgemont Runaway: What Can We Learn?
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Local parents and teens were alarmed to learn that an Edgemont girl had run away just after New Year's. It was a terribly frightening incident for kids and parents and the community breathed a collective sigh of relief when the girl was found safe and sound in Manhattan after 9 days at large.
Though the particulars of her circumstances are confidential, what can families learn from this? What's the right balance between giving your children freedom to roam and imposing rules and boundaries to ensure their safety and your peace of mind? These questions have perplexed parents of teens for years – and though there are no concrete answers, here's some information to consider.
We spoke to Jay Genova at Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling Service. In addition to acting as a referral center for families who need help, SFCS runs 65 parent support groups and Genova assured me that issues surrounding independence and boundaries are pretty much the crux of many parenting discussions. Though situations vary, it all comes down to the struggle to maintain discipline while allowing teens the freedom they need to grow into responsible adults.
So how to maintain a bond with your child? Genova stressed the importance of staying as connected as possible with your teenage child. He contends that teenagers face lots of risks and the best way to protect them from getting into trouble is to help them to build strong bonds with parents, the school and the community.
According to Genova, the conundrum for teenagers is that they have simultaneous needs for independence and autonomy along with the need for limits and boundaries to protect them. It's up to parents to try to negotiate between these conflicting forces.
If you feel your child growing distant from you, Genova suggests that you 
experiment with new and innovative ways to relate and connect. Plan to do something together that you both enjoy -- cooking, seeing a movie or trying a new restaurant. If conversations spiral into fights, try to re-establish rapport by avoiding hot topics and starting with safer or benign comments. Try to engage by talking about issues that don't stir up a fight.
And if you do disagree, Genova counsels parents to listen to their children and seek to understand their point of view. Maybe they have information you have not considered. Engage, hear what they say and validate their point of view, even if you don't agree. Genova says that kids are often frustrated because they feel their voices are not heard.
He also urged parents not to give up. If the conversation is going nowhere, table it until another day. Some issues may take several tries to sort out, so he recommends that if things get heated you back off and revisit the issue at another time. Stay connected by continuing the dialogue.
If you have reached an impasse and are fearful your child is at risk, there are many resources at your disposal. Call the school psychologist or peer counselor at your child's school, a mental health professional, speak to your clergy or consult Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling Service at (914) 723-3281.
Kang Family Expresses Gratitude for the Safe Return of their Daughter, Christine
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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The Kang family of Edgemont has sent out the following letter to thank everyone involved in the search for their daughter Christine who was located on Sunday night January 11 after nine days at large. According to reports she is safe and healthy:
Here is their letter:
Kang family would like to express our tremendous appreciation to everyone who took Christine into their hearts last night. We would like to thank all those whose tireless efforts and relentless search brought Christine safely home. We would also like to extend our gratitude to all who kept her in their thoughts and prayers for her safe return to home.
We would like to give a special Thank You to the gentleman who recognized Christine in the Church of Saint Agnes. In addition, we would like to thank Chief McNerney, Captain Ryan and the team of the Detective Division of the Town of Greenburgh Police Department who immediately implemented the search. Their efficient and powerful investigation identified Christine's route promptly, which enabled the search to focus on the area of Manhattan. Furthermore, their determined and unyielding efforts played a critical role in finding Christine safe and healthy.
We would also like to thank all of the members of the Edgemont community. Their
tremendous outpouring of support for Christine and our family have enormously helped us to continue the pertinacious search. Especially, we would like to thank Aubrey Graf- Daniels and the Edgemont Care Committee members, the Edgemont High School and the Edgemont Korean Mom Association. Through this network and our family's friends, we could have distributed more than 4,000 flyers in areas of Manhattan and Fort Lee, New Jersey. All of their help and support has been beyond our family's imagination.
Once again, thank you to everyone who helped.
Sincerely,
The Kang family
Scarsdale Raiders Take Down Mamaroneck Tigers in Hockey
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The stands were packed with many nail-biting fans on Monday night at Murray's Ice Rink in Yonkers as the Scarsdale Raiders took on the Mamaroneck Tigers in hockey. Along with the usual crowd of Scarsdale high school students and parents, teachers and even college students showed up to support our Raiders in the rivalry. So far, the team has had an exceptional season. They are currently on an 8-0 winning streak, and, in the first statewide ranking, the Raiders hockey team was named #1 in New York. Although the team has won previous games by as much as 9 goals, their victory over Mamaroneck proved a bit more difficult to achieve.
At the start of the first period, it was easy to tell that the teams were evenly matched. So far, the Tigers have won 9 games and lost only 2 games. Mamaroneck has been a tough opponent and a big name in hockey over the years, but the Raiders certainly proved themselves with this win. 4-Year Raiders hockey player James Nicholas remarked that "the sun used to rise and set on Mamaroneck hockey. Not anymore--we've changed that and it is a great feeling. Mamo bested us in the football playoffs this year, so we knew we had to take them down in hockey."
Midway through the first period, Nicholas scored his first goal. At the end of the period, Scarsdale led 1-0. Goalie Gabe Harousseau made some great saves to keep us leading by a goal into the third period, but Mamaroneck eventually scored, tying the score up at one through almost the end of the game. Nicholas, however, had an unbelievable tie-breaking goal late in the third period that saved the day. "My second goal was just one of those moments that you can't explain. The puck kinda fell on my stick and I just got it on net and it went in. It was a great moment and it couldn't have come at a better time" said Nicholas. Younger brother Stephen Nicholas also had a fantastic goal from inside the blue line toward the end of the period, making the final score 3-1 Scarsdale.
Overall, the team seemed to feel very proud of their performance. Defensive player Brandon Bank remarked that he felt he played well and put his all into the game. "I knew it was my last time playing Mamo, so I gave it everything I could." Co-captain Devon Schell agreed the team had a great game as well, but explained that they can always do better. Still, "anytime we beat Mamo, we're happy" added Schell.
The Raiders will be taking on Niagara falls tomorrow at 5:50 PM at EJ Murray's Ice Rink.
Music Together Teacher Training Workshop to Be Held in Scarsdale This Winter
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Music Together®, the national early childhood music and movement program developed in Princeton, New Jersey, is offering a three-day Teacher Training Workshop at Over the Moon Music and More, LLC, in Scarsdale, New York, from Friday, February 6, through Sunday, February 8, 2015. The teacher training is open to anyone desiring an overview of music development, including parents, university faculty, students, and preschool directors or teachers. Workshop participants will learn Music Together's research-based approach to teaching music and movement to children ages birth through kindergarten.
Participants who successfully complete the training will be eligible to teach Music Together parent-child or preschool classes, either at an existing Music Together center or by applying for a license to open and operate a Music Together center of their own. The flexibility of challenging part-time work with young children and parents appeals to musicians, actors, dancers, parents, and educators. No formal academic degrees are required.
The workshop provides opportunities to assess children's rhythmic and tonal development, techniques for presenting musical material, and strategies for lesson planning. There will be live early childhood music demonstration classes on each day of the workshop, teaching children and their parents using the Music Together curriculum.
Since 1987, Kenneth K. Guilmartin, Founder/Director of Music Together LLC and coauthor of Music Together, has been a pioneer in teaching parents and caregivers how to nurture their children's musical growth. "The whole purpose of the Music Together program is to enable children, as well as the adults participating with them, to become more comfortable with musical expression, and to develop musically at their own pace," says Guilmartin. He adds, "Childhood music development is a natural process just like language development."
Recent research shows that children's innate ability to make music is strongly supported as children observe the adults with whom they have an emotional bond actively engaging in making music. This is possible regardless of the adult's own musical ability. Music making is fun and engaging for children, parents, and teachers--and, as a highly beneficial side effect--contributes to the development of language and other intelligences, including spatial and mathematical.
The Music Together approach to early childhood music is taught worldwide at more than fifty teacher trainings per year. (For more information, visit www.musictogether.com.) Licensed Music Together teachers currently teach children in parent-child and preschool classes in approximately 2000 communities in all 50 states and over 20 foreign countries. In addition, many teachers trained by Music Together apply the curriculum and philosophy in preschools and childcare centers.
The cost of the three-day workshop is $475. Graduate Credits, CMTE Credits, and CEUs are available for completion of the teacher training. For additional information about the workshop or to register, visit www.musictogether.com, or contact Lisa Chouteau at (800) 728-2692 x329, lchouteau@musictogether.com.
